This true story begins in early May of 2005 when Captain Tom Tighe and first mate Loch Reidy of the sailboat Almeisan welcome three new crewmembers for a five day voyage from Connecticut to Bermuda. Tighe, from has made this bluewater trip 48 times, and Reidy has joined him 20 times. Each year they take three additional passengers who seek to learn about offshore sailing and are looking for adventure. That year the new crewmembers were Chris Ferrer of Massachusetts, Ron Burd of New Hampshire, and Kathy Gilcrest, from New Jersey.

Four days into their voyage a massive storm strikes and Captain Tighe and first mate Loch Reidy are swept from the boat during a knockdown and are carried away by huge seas. The three new crew members somehow remain on the vessel as it is torn apart by the seas. OVERBOARD follows the simultaneous desperate struggles of both the crew on the boat and the Captain and first mate in the sea.

Michael Tougias, author of OVERBOARD will use slides of the storm, the sinking sailboat, the crew, and the rescue missions to bring this story to life.

“I enjoy doing these programs,” says Tougias, “because I like to transport the audience into the heart of the storm so that they ask themselves ‘what would I have done.’ I think author readings can be a bit slow, but with a slide presentation, the viewer can visually relive the adventure.”

The attempted Coast Guard rescues of the survivors featured in Overboard put the rescuers in almost as much danger as those in the sea. It was such a complex and risky rescue that the Coast Guard later selected it – from among thousands of incidents—as the search and rescue case of the year.

A book signing will follow the program, and the presentation is suitable for all ages.

Michael Tougias is the author and co-author of 19 books including The Finest Hours: The True Story of the Coast Guard’s Most Daring Rescue, and Fatal Forecast: An Incredible True Tale of Disaster and Survival at Sea, which the Los Angeles Times called “breathtaking…a marvelous and terrifying tale.